The Risks Of Electrical Hazards In The Workplace

There are many different risks at the office that arise from the electricity supply, whether the company uses internal networks or not. Thankfully, there is a wealth of information out there advising employers about the risks they don’t know about as well as giving tips for staying safe even when exposed to these. Remember that there are a lot of legal complications that could arise for you as an employer if a member of your staff is harmed due to any of these hazards. Typically, electricity can only physically hurt someone when their skin comes into contact with a live part of the system. This exposure can either be direct or indirect. Indirect contact comes from the skin coming into contact with a conductor instead of the actual exposed wire.

What Are The Riskiest Parts?

Any appliance or outlet that has a voltage rating of 50V AC or 120V DC or more are considered dangerous to human life. Remember that electricity is a killer. Every year, there are serious accidents at offices all over the world, most of which are fatal, and all of which are in some way related to the victim getting shocked or burned by electricity. It doesn’t matter if you use embedded networks or the normal grid: the risk is the same. For the most part, these fatalities arise when there is exposure to a main power line, some of which carry as much as 10,000V in them. This is the equivalent to getting hit with a bolt of lightning. Even if the shock doesn’t kill the victim, there is the possibility of there being a serious and/or debilitating injury as a result. There is also the risk of them being blown backwards and falling, further injuring themselves.

Who Is Most At Risk Of Shocks?

There is no set group of people who are at risk of higher, more severe consequences arising from exposure to the electrical supply in the office. Anyone can be exposed, and everyone can die from the resulting shock. However, some of the employees at the company obviously come into contact with wiring and circuits more often than the rest. The group that is most exposed to risky situations is the maintenance staff of the building, as well as the engineers and people who work on construction sites, where just about everything electrical is slapped together to make something work at a given time. There are many reasons why people get exposed too.

For example, the most common cause of electrical shocks is that someone who was working on equipment that is supposed to be disconnected and turned off didn’t realize that at some point it had been turned back on or connected again. This leads to a shock the second a “dead” wire is touched and found to be live. Sometimes, people simply lack the training or the caution to be careful around live equipment. One tiny slip of the hand, and it hits the fan.